...even if Michu was injured!
I heard an outstanding rumour in the Railway Inn before yesterday's match. The JackCast host Matt Harrison introduced me to Iestyn, a ten-year-old font of information who reckons he knows why Michu was absent yesterday. Some say it was because of an ankle problem, but he's heard Michu has split up with his missus, causing him sufficient heartbreak as to affect his eligibility this weekend. Anything in that? We'll probably know in the next few days, but it's an interesting thought.
As to the game itself, I (and countless others) had stated Pablo had to return at the expense of Michu in a traditional 4-2-3-1 formation. Given Michu's enforced absence this weekend it saved Monk making a big call and dropping the Spaniard, as despite calls from large sections of the Swansea support to reinstate Hernandez it would still have been some statement benching last season's top scorer. It seemed to be working a treat too until yet another Spaniard made his presence felt, and with Chico receiving his marching orders Monk chose to sacrifice Pablo in order to maintain a solid midfield platform.
In the short amount of time he was on the field against Chelsea, I think Pablo showed why on many occasions I've said he's the best player in the Swansea squad. In that link role between midfield and attack you need to be brave, taking the ball in tight situations before turning and making something happen. That's what Pablo's best at, and I remember one occasion early on where he almost managed to squeeze between what looked like three Chelsea defenders, before the ball was ultimately cleared away. Guile is such a key attribute at the top level, and Hernandez has it in bucketloads.
Statistically, comparing him to Michu is very, very interesting indeed. It's probably fairly obvious by now that I have a bit of a thing about Michu, in that I think he has a detrimental affect on our midfield, and the stats from the last few games clearly show Michu hasn't been able to influence proceedings. Let's take passes first - in 66 minutes against Hull Michu made 23 successful passes, with an accuracy of 56.5%. Ouch. Pablo, in contrast, spent 24 minutes on the field and managed 25 successful passes, averaging 80% accuracy to boot. What's more impressive is his accuracy in the final third was the same - eighty percent, whereas Michu's? 38.9%. Pretty appalling to be honest.
Against Chelsea before his withdrawal Hernandez managed 13 passes in 19 minutes at 84.6% completed (66.7% completed in the final third), and further testament to the impact the wily schemer makes is evidenced in the heatmaps from the last couple of games.
I've put in Jonjo's heatmap from the Hull game to give you some "midfield reference" - in truth I could have used Leon, Routledge or Bony as all clearly worked hard without ultimately succeeding in much. What's notable about Jonjo's heatmap is that he covered nearly the entire pitch at one point or another, and it seems proof of what people have been saying in regards to his "drive" and "midfield engine". You have to love it when clichés are actually right - what is it they say? Something about the problem with truisms is that they're mostly true?
You can see from Pablo's heatmap that in the short amount of time he played against Hull he managed to get himself involved in various positions, notably either side of Wilfried Bony where I assume he was feeding off flickons and knockdowns. The cluster of touches on the left, and the heavy concentration on the right of centre show that he was taking the ball in tight situations and looking to create.
Can the same be said of Michu?
Not really. His activity is pretty much limited to the centre of the park, apart from a wandery diagonal run across goal. Considering the two players were supposedly operating in the same position the difference is marked. When you consider Michu had a passing accuracy of 38.9% in the final third in this match, it's fairly evident that in terms of attacking threat he offered very little.
I know Pablo was only on the field for a short amount of time against Chelsea, but I thought I'd throw his heatmap in too as it again shows how busy an attacking midfielder can be. He looks to get on the ball and make things happen, and I'm starting to question whether Michu has the first touch and balance to control the ball and turn in tight situations like those presented when you play in that position.
Overall, I was very pleased Pablo was reinstated against Chelsea and it was a real suckerpunch when he had to be withdrawn following Chico's dismissal. It seems he's likely to retain his place against Newcastle, and if he keeps playing like he has been I'll be very confident of a positive result against a Magpies side in complete freefall at the moment.
Viva Pablo!